If you could read my mind
by Aly2
Summary: Declan meets a woman who claims she can read minds. Declan/Miranda relationship.
1. Part 1

IF YOU COULD READ MY MIND  
  
  
  
Title: If you could read my mind.  
Author: Aly.  
E-mail: replicaly@yahoo.com.  
Rating: G, so far.  
Keywords: Declan, Miranda, Claudia, mind reading, psychic abilities.  
Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own Declan, Miranda, Peggy or anyone else that has anything to do with Mysterious Ways. Claudia however is mine, but you're all free to use and abuse her. :) Please do not sue me, I am only fifteen and I have no money, because my parents are tight and won't give me an allowance. Lol.  
Summary: Declan meets a woman who claims she can read minds. (Sorry, sorry, I know it sounds cliché!)  
Note: This is my first ever fan fic, MW or otherwise, so I'm sorry it's not very good! Feedback, however, may help my writing skills. (Hint hint!).  
  
  
PART ONE  
  
"So you can read minds?" Peggy strummed her fingers against the desk as she sat through her last appointment for that afternoon. She'd heard it all before, of course - mind reading, psychic abilities - some of the most common delusions of all. Twenty-two year old Claudia Mitchell-Munoz was not an unusual case. Suddenly Peggy was alerted to a brief knock at the door, and before she had a chance to motion for him to leave, he burst through the door, a pile of books and newspapers under his arm.  
"Hey Peg!" Declan said, giving her an impish grin. "Have you seen my-" At Peggy's look, he shut his mouth. "Sorry, I didn't realise you had a patient."  
"Declan. Go." She gave him a hard stare and he left the room quietly.  
"I'm very sorry about that, Claudia." she apologized to her patient.  
"That's all right, Dr. Fowler." Claudia gave a small laugh.  
"Now back to the matter at hand…"  
  
Half an hour later, Declan knocked on Peggy's door and waited for her to let him in.  
"Come in, Declan." she sighed.  
"Hey Peg, I'm sorry about that. I didn't think you had patients on Friday afternoons."  
"This was a special case. You're lucky I'm in a forgiving mood." she said. "What can I do for you?"  
"I was just wondering if you'd seen my passport. I have to go to a conference next month."  
The doctor looked perplexed. "Declan, why would I have your passport?"  
He shrugged, running a hand through his tousled brown hair. "I don't know. But I can't afford to get a new one."  
"Well Declan, I'll tell you if I see it." Peggy replied, giving him an amused look.  
Declan paused for a moment before speaking again. "Peg, I heard your patient say she could read minds. I-"  
Peggy gave him a stern glance. "Declan, don't even think about it. My patients have enough to deal with without you convincing them further of their delusions."  
"Who ever said I was going to convince her of her delusions?" he replied. "I just want to see if she's for real."  
"Declan, don't. Please. Besides, I have a lot of work to do this afternoon, if you don't mind-"  
"All right, I get the message." He picked up his books and tucked them under his arm, but not before he snuck a quick glance at the name on the top of the note sheet Peggy was writing on: Claudia Mitchell-Munoz.  
  
~~~~~  
  
"Hey Miranda," Declan said, bursting through the door of her lab. "Did you get my messages?"  
"All six of them." she confirmed, rolling up the sleeves of her light blue lab coat.  
"Did you get a chance to look her up?"  
"Not yet. I have to finish these tests, and I have to submit my paper for Professor Waldau-"  
"That's okay." he cut in. "When are you finishing up this evening?"  
"About six-thirty." she replied.  
"Cool. Could you try to look her up when you're done? I'll bring you back a burger."  
She gave him a wry half-smile, knowing well that there was little chance of a burger making its way from the fast-food place to her lab, intact. "I won't be holding my breath, Declan."  
  
~~~~~  
  
"Miranda, I'm back!" Declan announced, and tossed her a paper bag. "Cheeseburger. Uneaten." He beamed proudly.  
Miranda gave him a look that could have almost passed for a smile. "Thanks, Declan." She pulled out the burger and a cardboard container, which still contained two French fries. She popped them both into her mouth.  
"See, I even saved you some fries." he grinned. "Did you manage to get a number or address for Claudia?"  
Miranda nodded. "Phone number AND address, plus a cell phone number and e-mail address."  
"Wow." Declan commented. "Did you call her?"  
Miranda just stared at him.  
"Don't worry, I'll call her now."  
"I doubt she'll be home." Miranda said. "Remember, it's a Friday night. MOST people are out doing things."  
"Hey, we're doing things!" Declan objected. "And we even got take-out. How much more Friday-night do you want?" Miranda just rolled her eyes. Meanwhile, Declan had taken the sheet with Claudia's details on it and was punching her number into the keypad of his cell phone. It rang four times before someone picked up.  
"Hello?" A soft female voice answered.  
"Hi, is this Claudia?" He didn't wait for a response. "This is Declan Dunn, I'm an anthropology professor at Northern University. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment."  
"What about?" she replied.  
Declan cleared his throat. "I was in, uh, Dr. Fowler's office this afternoon and I heard you say that you were, uh, a mind reader."  
Claudia was silent for a moment before replying. "Do you really believe me?"  
"Yeah, sure!" he answered. "I've seen plenty of weird stuff in my life. I keep an open mind."  
"You know, um, now probably isn't the best time to talk." Claudia said softly. "My parents are over and they don't really like me talking about this sort of thing."  
"Uh, okay, sure." Declan replied. "Can I catch up with you sometime?"  
"I have classes at the university tomorrow morning. Could we meet at Jo's Diner at twelve o'clock?"  
"Sure!" he said enthusiastically. "Do you mind if I bring my assistant?" Miranda glared at him.  
"That's fine." Claudia was almost whispering now. "I have to go now. I'll see you tomorrow."  
"Sure thing." said Declan, and then hung up. He turned to Miranda. "We're going to meet her tomorrow at Jo's Diner, midday."  
"Declan, what makes you think she can actually read minds?" Miranda asked. "Peggy probably sees a dozen patients every week that think they're psychic, most of which are seriously deluded."  
"Well we're never going to find out if we don't look into it, are we? Please, Miranda?" At the word 'please', she almost smiled.  
"So are you in?" he asked.  
Miranda look one look at his somewhat dishevelled clothes and hair and his cute lopsided grin and nodded. "Okay, Declan. Fine."  
And then she smiled.  
  
  
  
AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
Sorry, I know this is a really rotten place to end part one, but it's all I've written at this stage. I hope to have part two up very soon. :) Also, please give me a quick review to tell me what you think so far!  



	2. Part 2

PART TWO

PART TWO

Declan stood outside the door of Professor Waldau's quantum mechanics class just before midday the next morning. Nearly fifty students passed him before he caught a glimpse of Miranda, carrying a pile of textbooks and spiral notepads.

"You ready?" he asked, jangling the keys to his beat-up truck? Miranda just nodded and followed him down the hallway.

Nearly fifteen minutes later, they stood in the doorway of Jo's Diner, looking around awkwardly.

"Well Declan, is she here or not?"

"I dunno…wait, I think that's her over there." He squinted through his glasses. "Yeah, it's her." He grabbed Miranda's arm and dragged her over to the table where Claudia was sitting.

"Claudia?" he asked, as he approached her. She was a slight, wispy girl who didn't look a day over eighteen, with short light brown hair and grey eyes. Sensing him approach, she looked up and gave a small smile.

"I'm Declan, we spoke last night," he continued. "And this is my assistant, Miranda."

Claudia nodded. "Nice to meet you."

"May we?" Declan asked, gesturing towards the empty chairs.

"Sure."

He pulled out a seat for Miranda, who gave him a strange look, then sat down beside her. "So Claudia," he began. "How long have you been able to, you know…"

"A few years." she replied. "But no one knew until recently. It was just my sister at first, but I ended up telling my parents a few months ago. They didn't believe me though."

"So they sent you to see Peggy?"

Claudia looked confused for a moment. "Oh, you mean Dr. Fowler."

"Yeah."

"They think I have some sort of…problem. But I swear I'm for real." She looked at him pleadingly.

"Yeah, I know you are." he said reassuringly. "But could you give me some sort of demonstration, you know-"

"Are you ready to order yet?" a young waiter asked suddenly, looking them over.

"Yeah, I'll have-" Miranda began, but Claudia silenced her.

"Here, Declan, I'll prove it." She looked over at Miranda. "You're about to order a bacon cheeseburger, onion rings and a regular coke. Because diet gives you a stomach ache." Miranda stared at her, disbelieving, but Claudia continued, turning to Declan. "You're going to order garlic bread, fries, a coke and a hamburger with the works. And I'll just have a diet soda."

"Is that right?" the waiter asked, looking them over.

"Yeah…" Declan replied, blinking slightly. "Spot on."

~~~~~

Half an hour later, when Declan had left to check on Mole, Miranda turned to Claudia and spoke for almost the first time.

"How did you do that?"

"I told you." Claudia said, stammering slightly. "I know what people are thinking. I really do."

"Wow." Miranda said, amazed. "Can you do it with…anyone?" Claudia gave an uncomfortable shrug.

"I don't know. I don't usually try." she said. There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment.

"It's not just clear thoughts, either." Claudia said, speaking up again. "It's…feelings too." Miranda raised one eyebrow in question.

"I know how you feel about him!" Claudia blurted out suddenly.

"Who?"

"Declan!"

Miranda shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She didn't like having her relationships questioned – especially her relationship with Declan. Their friendship was special. What could this girl know about it that she didn't?

"We're friends." she said finally. At Claudia's look, she elaborated. "I like him. We're pretty close."

"No, there's something more." Claudia insisted.

"Like what?" Miranda asked uneasily.

"Like love."

~~~~~

The ride back was awkward. Miranda had wanted to stay back at the diner, so Declan had offered Claudia a ride back with himself and Mole, seeing as he had a spare seat in the truck. For the first five minutes, neither of them said a word. Finally, Declan spoke up.

"That was really amazing, what you did back at the diner." he said.

"Thanks." Claudia said shyly. She paused for a moment. "Um, I had a talk to Miranda before, while you were gone."

"Oh?" Declan replied, knowing that any conversation Claudia could have had with Miranda would have been pretty one-sided. "What about?"

"I, uh, told her that I can pick up on feelings, as well as thoughts." When Declan didn't reply, she continued. "Like, I know how you feel right now."

"How's that?" Declan challenged.

"Tired." He burst out laughing, and she smiled.

"But there's other things too." She said seriously.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"You're in love." Declan just grinned.

"I think you're a bit off this time, Claudia." he said smiling. "It's just myself and Mole at the moment."

"Declan…"

"Oh, all right." he said, humouring her. "Who with?"

"Miranda."


	3. Part 3

PART THREE

Declan was sitting at his desk, peering into a box of congealed Singaporean noodles when he saw Miranda standing in his doorway.

"Hey you." he greeted her. "Want some noodles?"  
"I'll pass thanks, Declan." There was a moment of silence between them.

"So have you heard from Claudia?" he asked. It had been two weeks since their meeting at the diner, and neither he nor Miranda had been able to contact her since. He was beginning to think that this mystery might never get around to being solved.

"Not yet." she replied. "Didn't you say you left her a phone message?"

"Several, actually." He grabbed a pen and started poking at the noodles. "But she hasn't replied to any of them, and it's been over a week now. Maybe she's out of town or something."

"Maybe." Miranda echoed, but she didn't sound nearly as optimistic as Declan did.

~       ~       ~       ~       ~       ~

Two hours later, Declan was rushing down the corridor near Peggy's office at St. Joseph's, when he collided headfirst with a petite young woman.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't looking-" he apologized, picking his books and papers up off the floor. When he looked up, he was surprised to recognize the woman he had bumped into.

"Claudia!" he exclaimed.

"Hi Declan." she replied. Her hands twitched nervously as she raised her eyes to meet his.

"Did you get my messages?" he asked. "I've been trying to call you."

"Yeah, I got them." she replied. Declan waited for her to continue, but she didn't.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Declan, I'm not a mind-reader."

He paused for a moment. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said." she replied, beginning to sound irritated. "I can't read minds." She spoke clearly and looked him directly in the eye.

"But at the diner-" he protested.

"Declan, I don't know. Coincidence, I guess. I've been seeing Dr. Fowler, and she's helping me sort things out."

"You mean like, medication?"

Claudia nodded. "I'm sorry Declan. I'm sure you'll find something else." She gave him a sympathetic glance and then walked away.

~       ~       ~       ~       ~

Miranda was still in Declan's office, tapping away at his laptop computer, when he returned.

"Hey-" she started, getting up, but he interrupted her.

"Guess who I saw at the hospital?"

Miranda gave a loose shrug. "Claudia?"

"Yeah." He sounded surprised. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess." she offered.

"Anyway, uh, she's doing okay at the moment, but…"

"But what?" Miranda asked.

"She's not really a mind-reader."

"You mean it was a hoax?"

"Not really," he explained. "More like a delusion. But, what I don't get is how she did it. I mean, guessing what we were going to order at the diner…and other things."

Miranda began to look uncomfortable. "Other things?" she asked, remembering what Claudia had told her about Declan.

"Yeah. You know, personal stuff." When Miranda didn't respond, he continued, rather uncomfortably. "She said things about you…about me and you."

"Like what?" she asked. It almost came out as a whisper.

"Miranda, I'm in love with you."

She drew in a sharp breath. "You mean, that's just what she told you?"

"Yes, no, I mean, yes" he stammered. "But I mean it. I love you."

Tears glistened in her deep blue eyes and she moved closer to him. "I love you too Declan."


End file.
